The Most Famous

ACTORS from Denmark

This page contains a list of the greatest Danish Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 43 of which were born in Denmark. This makes Denmark the birth place of the 23rd most number of Actors behind Hong Kong, and Austria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Actors of all time. This list of famous Danish Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Actors.

1. Asta Nielsen (1881 - 1972)

With an HPI of 74.76, Asta Nielsen is the most famous Danish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 60 different languages on wikipedia.

Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta (The Asta). Known for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic circumstances. Due to the erotic nature of her performances, Nielsen's films were censored in the United States, and her work remained relatively obscure to American audiences. She is credited with transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle naturalistic style. Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. A private figure in her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and an author.

2. Mads Mikkelsen (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 67.02, Mads Mikkelsen is the 2nd most famous Danish Actor. His biography has been translated into 62 different languages.

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (Danish: [ˈmæs ˈme̝kl̩sn̩] ; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergeant Allan Fischer in the television series Rejseholdet (2000–2004), Niels in Open Hearts (2002), Svend in The Green Butchers (2003), Ivan in Adam's Apples (2005) and Jacob Petersen in After the Wedding (2006). Mikkelsen achieved worldwide recognition for playing the main antagonist Le Chiffre in the twenty-first James Bond film, Casino Royale (2006). His other film roles include Igor Stravinsky in Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2008), Johann Friedrich Struensee in A Royal Affair (2012), his Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award-winning performance as Lucas in the Danish film The Hunt (2012), Kaecilius in Marvel's Doctor Strange (2016), Galen Erso in Lucasfilm's Rogue One (2016), his BAFTA-nominated role as Martin in Another Round (2020), Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022), Dr Jürgen Voller in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), and Captain Ludwig Kahlen in The Promised Land (2023). Outside of film, he is known for his roles as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the television series Hannibal (2013–2015) and Cliff Unger in Hideo Kojima's video game Death Stranding (2019). A. O. Scott of The New York Times remarked that in the Hollywood scene, Mikkelsen has "become a reliable character actor with an intriguing mug" but stated that on the domestic front "he is something else: a star, an axiom, a face of the resurgent Danish cinema".

3. Anna Karina (1940 - 2019)

With an HPI of 66.39, Anna Karina is the 3rd most famous Danish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Anna Karina (born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer; 22 September 1940 – 14 December 2019) was a Danish-French film actress, director, writer, model, and singer. She was an early collaborator of French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, her first husband, performing in several of his films, including The Little Soldier (1960), A Woman Is a Woman (1961), My Life to Live (1962), Bande à part (Band of Outsiders; 1964), Pierrot le Fou (1965), and Alphaville (1965). For her performance in A Woman Is a Woman, Karina won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. In 1972, Karina set up a production company for Vivre ensemble (1973), her directorial debut, which screened in the Critics' Week lineup at the 26th Cannes Film Festival. She also directed the French-Canadian film Victoria (2008). In addition to her work in cinema, she worked as a singer and wrote several novels. Karina was an icon of 1960s cinema, and referred to as the "effervescent free spirit of the French New Wave, with all of the scars that the position entails". The New York Times described her as "one of the screen's great beauties and an enduring symbol of the French New Wave".

4. Erik Bruhn (1928 - 1986)

With an HPI of 61.15, Erik Bruhn is the 4th most famous Danish Actor. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author.

5. Jesper Christensen (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 59.31, Jesper Christensen is the 5th most famous Danish Actor. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jesper Christensen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈjespɐ ˈkʰʁestn̩sn̩]; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr. White in the James Bond films Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre. In his home country, Christensen has won four Bodil Awards, three for Best Actor: Did Somebody Laugh? (1978), The Bench (2000), and Manslaughter (2005), and one for Best Supporting Actor: Barbara (1997). In 2006, Jesper Christensen declined the offer to receive the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog. He said that he thought the entire idea of monarchy is a crime against the members of the royal family, and it does not fit with modern ideas.

6. Giancarlo Esposito (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 59.11, Giancarlo Esposito is the 6th most famous Danish Actor. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (Italian: [dʒaŋˈkarlo dʒuˈzɛppe alesˈsandro eˈspɔːzito]; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad, from 2009 to 2011, as well as in its prequel series Better Call Saul, from 2017 to 2022. For this role, he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012) and earned three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. His other television roles include Federal Agent Mike Giardello in the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1998–1999), Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror in the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2011–2017), Tom Neville in the NBC series Revolution (2012–2014), Dr. Edward Ruskins in the Netflix series Dear White People (2017–2021), Stan Edgar in the Amazon series The Boys (2019–present) and The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022), and Moff Gideon in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), the lattermost of which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also portrayed Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem (2019–present), acted in Westworld (2016), and starred in the Netflix television series Kaleidoscope (2023) and The Gentlemen (2024). He is also known for his roles in several Spike Lee films, such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Malcolm X (1992). His other major films include Taps (1981), King of New York (1990), Bob Roberts (1992), Fresh (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Ali (2001), Monkeybone (2001), Last Holiday (2006), Rabbit Hole (2010), The Jungle Book (2016), Okja (2017), and Stargirl (2020).

7. Connie Nielsen (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 57.24, Connie Nielsen is the 7th most famous Danish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the films Gladiator (2000) and Gladiator II (2024) and as Queen Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe. She has also starred in films such as Soldier (1998), Mission to Mars (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), Basic (2003), The Hunted (2003), The Ice Harvest (2005), Nymphomaniac (2013), 3 Days to Kill (2014), Inheritance (2020), and Nobody (2021). She also had roles as New York Police Department Detective Dani Beck, the temporary partner of Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler in the NBC crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2006), the Starz political drama series Boss (2011–2012), the Fox crime thriller series The Following (2014), the TNT limited drama series I Am the Night (2019) and starred in the Channel 4 drama series Close to Me in 2021.

8. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 57.11, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the 8th most famous Danish Actor. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (Danish pronunciation: [ˈne̝koˌlɑjˀ ˈkʰʌstɐ ˈvæltɑw]; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film Nightwatch (1994). He played Jaime Lannister in the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Coster-Waldau has appeared in numerous films in his native Denmark, other Scandinavian countries, and the U.S. These include Headhunters (2011) and A Thousand Times Good Night (2013). In the U.S, his debut film role was in the war film Black Hawk Down (2001), playing Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon. He then played a detective in the short-lived Fox television series New Amsterdam (2008), and appeared in the 2009 Fox television film Virtuality, originally intended as a pilot. He is a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, drawing public attention to issues such as gender equality and climate change.

9. Annette Stroyberg (1936 - 2005)

With an HPI of 56.75, Annette Stroyberg is the 9th most famous Danish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Annette Susanne Strøyberg (7 December 1936 – 12 December 2005) was a Danish actress. Her films included Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959), which was directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.

10. Sidse Babett Knudsen (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 55.23, Sidse Babett Knudsen is the 10th most famous Danish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Sidse Babett Knudsen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈsisə ˈpæpet ˈkʰnusn̩]; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy Let's Get Lost, for which she received both the Robert and Bodil awards for Best Actress. Following the critical success of her debut, Knudsen has been considered one of the top Danish actresses of her generation. In 2000, she again won both best actress awards for the comedy romance Den Eneste Ene (English title: The One and Only). In 2016, she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Courted (L'Hermine). Knudsen has also received award nominations for her roles in Monas Verden (Mona's World) and Efter brylluppet (After the Wedding). Knudsen achieved international recognition for her leading role as fictional Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg in the Danish TV series Borgen, and for her role as Theresa Cullen in the HBO science fiction-Western television series Westworld.

People

Pantheon has 45 people classified as Danish actors born between 1812 and 1994. Of these 45, 29 (64.44%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Danish actors include Mads Mikkelsen, Jesper Christensen, and Giancarlo Esposito. The most famous deceased Danish actors include Asta Nielsen, Anna Karina, and Erik Bruhn. As of April 2024, 3 new Danish actors have been added to Pantheon including Betty Nansen, Lili Bech, and Søren Malling.